Iceland’s Emerging MICE Industry

Despite the arguably lack of tourism-orientated events, Iceland’s MICE event industry may tell a different story. Several factors are assisting Reykjavik in becoming a popular location to hold such type of event;

Location – situated on flight-path between USA and Europe

Interesting selection of venues – including the Harpa Conference Centre

Excellent cuisine

Accommodation – for large numbers of delegates, and for a range of budgets

Eco-friendly ethos and practices

Access to surrounding landscape

Smart Magazine in fact ranked Reykjavik in top 10 best business destinations in 2016.

(Meeting Reykjavik, 2016a)

With this sector occupying 7% of Iceland’s tourism market (Meeting Reykjavik, 2016b), during my trip I will be keen to explore their MICE offerings in more detail. With this in mind, on my allocated day of free-time, I intend to take a trip up to The Harpa Conference Centre, to take a further look at the venue offerings of this country. I aim to ultimately argue a conclusion for or against Reykjavik as a suitable destination for MICE events.

The centre can be accessed easily from our hotel, using number 1, 3, 6, 11 or 12 bus routes and is open daily from 8am-midnight (Harpa, 2017).